Substantial effort has been expended in improving the construction and operation of stationery cutting implements for household and office use. Ever increasing demands have been placed on manufacturers of these products to increase the ease of use, the wear resistance, and the ease with which the products can be cleaned, while maintaining a competitive price. For example, typical household and office scissors have been unable to achieve a long-lasting cutting edge, which withstands the wide-variety of products being cut, at a competitive price.
A cutting instrument is typically formed of a suitable substrate material, such as stainless steel, and a cutting edge is often formed with a wedge-shaped configuration. The edge sharpness varies greatly depending upon the intended use of the instrument. Cutting instruments include, by example, scissors, knife blades, and paper trimmers, each of which can have varied uses. Furthermore, each of these types of instruments can have a significant number of sub-classes, for which the blades can vary widely depending upon the intended use, the price point, and intended consumer. Extended use of the instrument often results in a dulling and wearing effect. Hard coatings are often used to increase wear resistance and hardness of the cutting instrument. It would be advantageous for a cutting instrument to have an improved hard, tough, wear-resistant coating.